UPDATED: Chester police seek two men in armed home invasion

By JASON SCHREIBERUnion Leader CorrespondentMay 21. 2013 1:23PMCHESTER - Police are searching for two men who allegedly tied up a man inside his Chester home, robbed him of money and his cellphone while threatening him with a gun, and then fled Tuesday morning.

Police were called to the home at 22 Lady Slipper Lane just after 11 a.m. to investigate a report of an armed home invasion.

Police Chief William Burke said the victim told police that the two men knocked on a back door and was let in by his sister who assumed they knew her brother because they asked for him by name.

"She thought it was no big deal," Burke said.

The men then entered the house and went to an upstairs bedroom where the unidentified victim, who is in his 20s, was just getting up and putting his clothes on, Burke said.

The victim told police that the men rushed at him, threw him on the bed, pulled out a gun and tied his hands behind his back using zip ties, Burke said.

At one point, the victim claimed the men put the gun in his mouth and threatened to harm him and his sister if he didn’t tell them where they could find money in the house.

Burke said the men stole between $3,000 to $4,000 from one drawer and another $700 to $1,000 from another. They also snatched his cellphone.

The victim’s sister eventually heard the men running down the stairs and then she rushed into her brother’s bedroom, Burke said. He told his sister to lock herself in the attic.

Burke said the victim eventually freed his hands from the ties and went outside, where he grabbed a shotgun from the trunk of his car and fired a round as a warning shot after the two alleged assailants took off on foot.

No one was injured by the gunshot.

"He said he shot straight up in the air," Burke said.

Police were able to trace the cellphone to the area of Halls Village Road and Route 121. Chester police, state police, and other local police searched the area but were unable to find the phone or the two men.

Burke said the men may have thrown out the cellphone and at some point fled in a vehicle.

Burke said it’s possible that the men were looking for another man associated with the victim who used to live at the residence.

"The victim said he clearly has no idea why this happened. He has no idea who these guys were," Burke said.

One of the men was described as Caucasian and the other Asian. Both were wearing dark clothing and are believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, Burke said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Chester Police Department at 887-2080.

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